Scepter

Part 19

By the time the priest dragged the black-robed mage out of the tent, the sun had risen to its zenith directly overhead. However, the dense foliage of the dark forest canopy softened even the intense sunlight, making it gentle.

Lily and the others were packing up, preparing to set off. Upon seeing the priest, they greeted him one by one, inquiring about his health. The priest smiled patiently in response, thanking everyone for their concern.

Asur, bound and unable to move his hands, huffed at the sight and turned his head away. He had learned to keep quiet, not daring to speak up easily.

In fact, nobody paid much attention to him. Due to the presence of the demon, everyone remained highly vigilant, unwilling to let their guard down. Even during rest and meal times, nobody was willing to bring food over to Asur. Eventually, it was Afra who brought it to him.

However, Asur clearly didn't realize the root of his poor reception. He believed that most of it was due to the priest inciting trouble.

After all, priests from the Radiant Curia naturally possessed an affinity for attracting others due to the blessings of the Goddess of Light. Otherwise, the Curia wouldn't have dominated for over a thousand years. This belief only strengthened Asur's conviction, and he grew even more resentful towards the priest, deeply regretting not killing this troublesome pretty face from the start.

No one bothered to speculate on his psychological activities. In everyone's minds now, the name "Asur" was practically synonymous with a plague.

However, unexpectedly, over the next few days, although Asur was noisy, he could easily be silenced with a mute spell. The advanced demon that had appeared seemed to have gone into a deep sleep, never to be seen again. While Lily and the others didn't say it out loud, they even began to doubt Chris's judgment. After all, Chris hadn't detected the identity of the impostor "Asur" before the incident where he abducted the priest.

But even without the advanced demon, the dark forest was dangerous enough. Creatures like the Hellfire Arachnid they encountered earlier, as well as the Devil's Trees, Man-Eating Thorns, and Blood Roses they continued to encounter, left everyone exhausted.

The "Blood Rose" wasn't the name of a flower; in fact, it was entirely blood-red, hideously ugly, yet exuded a strong floral fragrance. It was used to relax the vigilance of enemies, then, when passing travelers let down their guard, it would emerge from underground and entangle them, slowly consuming them.

The Devil's Trees and Man-Eating Thorns were similarly formidable.

It sounded terrifying, but fortunately, these were just vicious plants, not even low-level demons. Although they were exhausting to deal with, there were no casualties.

Moreover, despite the dangers of the dark forest, there were valuable resources to be found along the way. For example, the swordsmen found a rare ore that could be used to forge swords, making them even sharper and more durable. The black-robed mage discovered Dragonvein Wood, a rare material used to make staves. Due to its scarcity, only a few pieces were found, and they all ended up in the pockets of the discoverer, Chris. He even gave one of them to the priest. With Dragonvein Wood combined with the red mana crystal he had previously acquired, it was perfect for crafting a powerful staff.

With it, the priest's spellcasting abilities were greatly enhanced, allowing him to effortlessly use intermediate healing spells. Others could only watch with envy.

As they approached closer to the border city of Lacerena in the Jardet Empire, passing through the central region of the dark forest, everyone began to relax their vigilance. They no longer needed a swordsman to guard Asur during rest breaks, although the ropes and spells on him remained unchanged.